James e



(MMMGL) J. E. EMERSON. PROCESS OF AND MAGHINE FOR STRAIGHTENING, TEMPE-BIN Gr, AND

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Patented Oct. 9', 1883..

PCYESS; mw-unm u w. Washmg FLATTENING SAW BLADES.

v UNITED; STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES E, nnnnson, on BEAVER FALLS/PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF AND MACHINE FOR STRAlGHTENING,TEMPERING, AND FLATTENING SAW-BLADES.

SPECIFICATION forming. part Of Letters Patent N0. 286,284, dated October 9, 1883.

' Application filed June 14, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, Janus E. EMERSON, a citizen of the Unit-ed States, residing at Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Process of and Machine for Straightening, Tempering, and Flattening Narrow Saw-Blades, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

. This invention relates to straightening, flat toning, and tempering saw-blades, such as are made from long thin strips of sheet-steel with teeth out upon one edge, and used as band, scroll, web, and similar saws. such saw-blades as are enumerated above are cut from long thin sheets of steel by slitting to the width desired, which may be one-eighth of an inch in width to six or more inches wide, and after being so slit to the proper width the teeth are cut or made upon one edge of the narrow strip, and in cutting or forming the teeth by the usual method the edge so made into teeth will be elongated, curving the sawblade edgewise, and to straighten or make the points of the teeth coincide with a straight line. so as to stretch the back of the blade to be of the same length as the toothed edge, has heretofore been practiced; but with all the time and care spent, even by an expert, there will b) imperfections-such as short crooks made by unequal expansion of the metal under the hammer. or roller-which causes a kink in the blades, and under such conditions the teeth of the saw will never work on a true line under the same strain; and to avoid such imperfections in the straightening and flattening is a part of the object of this invention, while It is well known that Either hammering or rolling the blades,

the means usedfor adjusting the guides therein. Fig. 5 represents a transverse section of the guides between which the saw-blades pass "in being drawn through the machine and the means used for adjusting them.

, A represents a heating-furnace, having the fire-grate A, upon which coal or other fuel, to produce heat of the necessary degree to heat the saw-blades as they are passed over the fire is placed.

A is a removable cover to the furnace A, and over the furnace is a cover or dome, A, to collect and conduct away the gases from the combastion of the fuel on the grate in the furnace.

A is a coal or fuel bin. a a is an air-pipe to supply air underneath the grate ,to facilitate the combustion of the fuel on the grate, and it enters the end of the furnace below the grate. The furnace-walls are formed of any suitable material, such as' cast-iron, fire-brick, or cast-iron lined with bricks, or other equally good material.

B is an oil-tank, filled nearly to its cover I) on its top with oil for a hardening-bath t0 the saw-blades after they come from the heat and in a heated state from the furnace. A

B is a water-jacket surrounding the oil-tank, the water in which is kept at or about the same level with the oil in tank B, and the cold water is supplied to the jacket through the induction-pipe b at, or nearly at, the top of the jacket, and the drain-pipe b" is on the opposite sidefrom the induction'pipe, and is also insertible in the jacket at or near its top edge, for reasons hereinafter explained.

C is a tempering-furnace orfire-box, containing grate C, upon which the fuel for drawing or giving the proper temper to the saw-blades up the combustion of the fuel in the furnace C, and is placed to force the air-current below the grate c, the air being forced through it by any known way.

D is a heated flattener, placed over the tempering-fire in the furnace or firebox O, and it is composed of the two plates (Z and d, of iron, steel, or other metal, having their meeting surfaces perfectly-flat and smooth. The

lower plate, (1, is fixed or immovable, while ICO the upper plate, (I, is movable perpendicularly. To this flattener are attached two horizontally adjustable guides, d and (1. As seen in Fig. 4, in which the guides c and c have flanges d on their outer ends, through which pass the adjusting screws d which screw-into the bottom block or plate, (6, of the flattener D in such manner that the space between their inner ends can be made to conform to the width of the saw-blade H, and also that the guide which the toothed edgeof the sawblade bears will be on a line with a guide in the flattener and a fixed guide beyond the flattener. Other known means for adjusting the guides d and c may be adopted when preferred, and to the upper plate is attached a pivoted lever, (F, upon which is a sliding weight, (1 so that any desired pressure can be given to the upper plate, (I, of the flattener D.

upon the blades.

E is a trussed and balanced frame, made t move or vibrate upon standard E, to correspond in its vibrations to the diagonal broken lines seen'in Fig. 1; or it maybe constructed to move horizontally in a transverse direction and parallel with the line of the straightened saw-blades, so as to carry the winding spool to the right or to the left, as is also seen in broken lines in Fig, 1.

Attached to frame E is along'itudinal shaft, 6, having a hand crank-wheel, d, at its operating end, and to revolve in proper bearings c e, and at the opposite end is secured a gearwheel 6 which ears into and revolves earwheel f, that is fast upon shaft f and revolves the spool F.

G is a spool or reel revolving with a shaft in bearings fixed to posts G or other fixed supports, and upon which reel or spool is wound the joined webs or saw-blades H, that have their teeth out upon one edge, and are to be straightened, flattened, and tempered. The reel-shaft of reel. G may be placed in a transverse reciprocating frame in such manner that the curved blades H, that are wound on the reel will be drawn therefrom in a direct line from the reel to and between the ad justable guides, between which the blades are passed ill-entering the machine, the same or in a similar way that the reel F is reciprocated, or by any other well-known mechanical means.

The strips of steel that have been slit to the width and the teeth out upon one edge will be curved, so that the toothed edge is convex, are

. fastened together at their ends by rivet-s, wire,

or other suitable means to be in line on their edges, so as not to part under considerable tension, and are wound upon the reel or spool G, which reel or spool is much wider than the width of the saw-blades, in order that a much greater length of saw-blades may be wound thereon than could be if the spool was of the same width as a saw-blade, as the diameter of the wound blades would be too great to freely work through the machine, as too much friction would result by throwing the blades on, the spool too much out of a direct line in their passage through the machine to be straightened and tempered, and as it is intended to wind thousands of feet in length of the narrow toothed strips upon a spool at a single time, of the joined webs. When the spool or reel G is wound full, as seen in Fig. 2, which may be done upon some other support than the posts G, the spool with its webs ,of sawblades H is placed so that the shaft will rest on and revolve in bearings g gon the posts G,

Fig. 1, the fire on grate A in furnace Abeing at the proper heat, the tank B filled with oil,

and the smaller tempering-fire in furnace O burning. The free end of the saw-blades is passed between adjustable guides 1 1, which are adjusted by the screws 3 3,that pass through projecting lugs 24 4, that project from and are fast to the furnace wall or some other fixed part; thence pass through flanges 2 2 of guides 1 1, as seen in Figs. 1 and 5, underneath ahinged and weighted pressure-lever, h, having a movable weight, h, thereon of sufficient weight to create proper friction to cause considerable tension to draw the crooked saw-blades lengthwise under it; then passing through an opening. in the end of furnace A over the fire that heats the blades to the proper heat; thence through the opposite end of furnace A over the top of the cold-water jacket B, which is kept full of water from the supply-pipe b,that pours its cold water into the water-tank at the top thereof, and immediately underneath the saw-blade H, so as to have the water at the top the coldest. Thence the saw-blade enters the end of the hardening-tank B at a point at or near the top of the oil thereimwhen it is deflected downward into the oil by the curved plate 1/ to the opposite side of the oil-tank, when it leaves the oil-tank directly over or near to the water drain-off pipe I), which drains off the warmest water in the water-jacket, made so by the hot webs or blades of the saws in passing through the hardening or oil bath; thence the saw blade enters the end of the tempering-furnace 0, over the fire therein, and into the heated flattener D, between the faces of the plates of which all the sidewise crooks, bends, or puffs are pressed out or flattened; thence the webs or blades go through a permanently-fixed guide I, so adjusted as to be in a true line on the side that the toothed edge of the saw-blades bear, with the guides 1 1 and the guides in the heated flattener D, that the toothed edge of the saw-blades bear against; thence over the vibrating frame E to the spool or reel F, that is attached to the vibrating frame E, so as to vi.- brate with the frame in winding the straightened, tempered, and flattened saw-blades upon the spool F, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The space between the flattener D and the reel or spool F must be great enough to have the blades cool, or so cool as not to be permanently set'or bent in the winding it upon the reel F, but of that temper that when off the reel the blades would straighten of their own accord. Other means'such as a cold blast of air applied or passing through cold water for cooling the bladesmay be used; but the long space is preferable, as being cooled in the air keeps the temper even.

In operating this machine to produce the process of straightening, tempering, and flattening the blades, the device being prepared and in position as described, the operator is at or near X, so that one leg is between the over the temperingfire in furnace 0 into orbetween the heated flattener-plates in the flattcner D, where all pufis'kinks, or bends in thesides of the saw-blades areleveled, and the right temper is given and known by the operator, who closely watches the color of the blades as they leave the'heated flattener, turning the reel faster and drawing the blades quickerover the fire and through the fiattener when the heat is great, or retarding the passage of the bladeswhen the heat is less, and would take longer to draw the temper in the blades to the right color. This process straightens the saw-blades edgewise simply by tension applied thereto between the presser, pivoted and weighted lever h, and adjustable guides 1 1, and the oil-tank before the blades are hardened in the oil-bath, as the tension upon the bladesis all the'time in a direct line 7 than the blades of a saw, the spool must movev from guides 1 1 through the flattenei D to the fixed guide I in advance of the spool F, and by the revolution of the spool in winding the blades thereon. In orderto wind the straightened, flattened, and tempered blades uponthe spool F, the spool being many times wider horizontally about half of its length or width in each direction from its center, and this is accomplished by the leg of the operator acting upon the projections to move the vibrating frame Efrom or towardhimself, carrying with it the spool F, and consequently the saw-blades, after being guidedby the fixed guide I, will be laid upon the spool from end to end until the spool is full. The whole operation is under the eye of the operator, who sees all the time what is necessary to be done, and does it at the proper time to give perfection to the I saw-blades in being straightened, and truly tempered.

-I do not wish to confine myself to coal or other fuel in furnace A, to heat the saw-blades to be straightened by tension, as molten lead, prussiate of potash, or other things may be flattened,

used as the heating agent instead of coal or other fuel burned on a grate. Nor do I wish ciple of my invention. When wide blades for band-saws are to be straightened, requiring greater force to draw the blades through the machine, friction-drawing rollers jj will be employed to create the tension necessary to straighten the blades and draw them through the machine, which rollers can be operated by or from anyconvenient mechanical device for the purpose.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is v 1. In a machine for straightening, flattening, and tempering narrow saw-blades, the combinationof the reel G for the blades, the pressure-lever h, heating-furnace A, waterjacket B, having inlet cold-water-pipe b and warmwater-exit pipe I), covered oil-tank B, having curved plate 1/ therein, temperingfurnace O, heated flattener D, and fixed guide I, with the vibrating frame E, having the winding-spool F-thereon, and means for revolving the spool, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for straightening the blades of narrow saws that are curved edgewise, the combination of the weighted pressure-lever h, adjustable guides 1 1, heating-furnace A, and fixed guide I, withthe vibrating windingspool F, constructed and operating substantially as described.

3. In a machine for flattening the blades of narrow saws, the heated flattener D, composed of plates (1 and d, adjustable guides d and d, pivoted lever (1*, and its weight (1, substantially as described and shown.

4. The process of straightening, tempering, and flattening saw-blades by first drawing them through or between guides, subjecting them to pressure, then passing them over or through a heating medium, and while so heated straightening them on their edges by applying-tension to their forward ends and conducting them through fixed guides, then passing them through a hardening-bath, thence through or over a tcmperingheat to temper them, and then through a heated flattener to flatten and level them on their sides, as'described.

5. The process of straightening the curved edgesof saw-blades by first'drawing them through or between guides while under pressure, then heating, and while heated drawing them straight by tension applied to their forward ends, as described.

6. The process of flattening the sides of. saw-blades by first drawing them through or between guides, subjecting them to pressure, then passing them over or through a heating medium, and while heated conducting them through a heated flattencr to flatten and level them on their sides, as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. JAMES E. EMERSON.

Vitnesses JULIUs F. KURTZ, MInoN M. EDGAR. 

